2007 State of the Sox

July 31: Yankees 16, White Sox 3

There's nothing like watching the White Sox fail in epic fashion after knowing that we're stuck with this team for the rest of the year.  Outside of Juan Uribe going profundo on a 3-2 Mike Mussina curveball and Jermaine Dye running into the wall while making a catch, this game was 100 percent ugly.

First and foremost, White Sox pitchers allowed eight homers to the Yankees.  It tied a franchise high for the Bronx Bombers, and as far as I can tell, it sets a franchise high for the White Sox -- at least in the last 50 years.

Bullet points:

• Jose Contreras lasted only 2 2/3 innings, giving up three homers.  Charlie Haeger gave up two and Gavin Floyd gave up three.
• Juan Uribe made one of Haeger's homers count in the unearned run column by committing an error with two outs.
  
• Ozzie Guillen and Paul Konerko were ejected.
• Darin Erstad replaced Konerko, marking the first time he joined featherweights Scott Podsednik and Jerry Owens in the same lineup.
• Boone Logan pitched a scoreless inning.

Record: 48-58 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 29: Blue Jays 4, White Sox 1

When Hawk Harrelson is drawing comparisons between Shaun Marcum (nine career wins entering today) and Catfish Hunter (224 career wins), you know it's not your day.

Marcum dominated the White Sox, facing the minimum through seven before Jermaine Dye's solo homer in the eighth brought that run to an end.  It would've been tough to beat Marcum with the way he was throwing today, but White Sox hitters did make it easy for him.  Basically, they took strikes, swung at balls, and applied a plate approach that treated an official contest with a backyard game where opposite field is out.

Jerry Owens had the only hit before then; an infield single that Aaron Hill knocked down with a dive but couldn't control.  He was erased two batters later on a Jim Thome double play that deflected off Marcum.

Unfortunately, Dye's homer didn't have as great an impact, because it came right after the Blue Jays finally cracked Javier Vazquez.  Javy dominated through seven, posting a line almost as fine as Marcum's.  He only ran into trouble once, when John McDonald turned a single into a double thanks to a lackadaisical approach by Owens.  He advanced to third on Reed Johnson's bunt, but Vazquez pitched out of it.

But Vazquez made the mistake of pitching .244-hitting Curtis Thigpen like he was Alexis Rios or Troy Glaus, and an ill-advised walk awoke the slumbering Toronto offense.  McDonald shot a single through the right side, Reed Johnson singled softly to load the bases.  Lyle Overbay drove in the first run of a game with a sacrifice fly, and after a Rios single, it became a 2-0 game.

Vazquez should've gotten out of the inning when Glaus hit a flyball to left, but Scott Podsednik short-armed the catch attempt, and the ball glanced off his glove for a two-run error.

Record: 48-57 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 28: White Sox 2, Toronto 0

The last time Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay locked horns, Buehrle allowed only two runs via the home run while going the distance, but lost 2-0.

This time, the hand was on the other foot, as Buehrle shut down the Blue Jays over eight strong innings, making Halladay the hard-luck loser.  Of course, when you consider Jerry Owens actually took Halladay deep for his first career home run, perhaps this was a game Doc deserved to lose.

It all happened so quickly.  Danny Richar, playing his first game for the White Sox, led off the inning with a single past a drawn-in Troy Glaus, and Halladay clearly wasn't happy that the grounder got through.  Owens then took the first pitch he saw, a low and inside fastball, and actually turned on it for once.  The ball barely cleared the right-field fence, and the Sox had all the runs they needed.

Buehrle was lean, mean and efficient.  He scattered eight hits and a walk over eight innings, striking out six.  He was aided by three double plays, including one nicely turned by Richar.  He did commit a rare error in the first inning, pulling his head up on an Alexis Rios nubber in the first inning.  However, in the eighth inning, with a runner on first and Rios at the plate, the situation repeated itself.  Buehrle picked up the ball with his bare hand, spinned and fired to get Rios by half a step.

The Sox were lucky to have Buehrle on his game, because Halladay stumped Sox hitters for most of the game.  And when they had opportunities, they shot themselves in the foot.  Scott Podsednik overran third on a Richar infield single, and John McDonald caught him too far off the bag to end one scoring threat.

Equally as ugly was a situation in the sixth, when Paul Konerko reached on a Troy Glaus error and A.J. Pierzynski singled.  Jermaine Dye took all the air out of the potential rally when he put a terribly weak swing on a pitch that was never in the strike zone.  He stuck his bat out, hit a soft grounder to short that started a 6-4-3.

Record: 48-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 27: White Sox 4, Blue Jays 3

See, these are the White Sox we thought we'd see more often:  Solid starting pitching, giving an effective bullpen a short night with enough offense to get the job done.

Garland allowed 10 hits over 7 1/3 innings, but he scattered them for the most part.  He was hurt the only time they bunched up -- a situation that started out as a runner on first with two outs snowballed into a three-run inning for Toronto as Frank Thomas doubled, Aaron Hill scored Thomas from second on a single, and then Matt Stairs capped it off with a single.

Of course, Garland could have been out of the inning had Scott Podsednik not taken his eye off the ball -- or had a throwing arm.  Thomas hit one of his trademark rainmakers to deep left, but Podsednik stopped tracking the ball in order to climb the fence.  Little did he know that wasn't necessary, because had he just stood next to the wall, it would've fallen into his mitt.  Instead, he got turned around, the ball bounced off the fence, and Thomas ended up with a double.

Thomas then scored on a roped single to left because Pods couldn't hit the cutoff man on the fly.  Thomas slid in safely a split second ahead of Pierzynski's tag.  Three runs scored because of Pods' misplay, including two as a direct result.

Fortunately, that fourth inning would be the only one in which Toronto would score.  Garland kept the Blue Jays at bay otherwise, thanks to the return of his control.  While he gave up a number of well-hit flyballs, they didn't hurt him, mainly because he only walked one over his outing.  While he threw 114 pitches, 78 went for strikes.

The Sox offense scuffled a little in the earlygoing after Jermaine Dye's second-inning solo shot.  Josh Fields struck out with runners on the corners with one out in the fourth, but Juan Uribe would pick his teammates up over the next two innings.

In the fifth, he beat out a dribbler to third for an infield single to lead off the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch.  He barely got to third tagging late on a medium-range flyball to center, thanks to Royce Clayton not cutting off the throw.  Jerry Owens blew his second straight RBI bunt attempt, popping out to Josh Towers, but Alex Cintron jamshot dropped just inside the third base line over the head of Troy Glaus to score Uribe to cut the lead to 3-2.

Uribe then came up huge in the sixth, smoking a two-run double down the left-field line with two outs on the first pitch relief pitcher Bryan Tallet threw, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Garland pitched out a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh, and then Ehren Wassermann stranded a runner by retiring the two batters he faced.  He ended the eighth by coming back from down 3-0 to induce a routine flyout off the bat of Aaron Hill.  Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 29th save.

Record: 47-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 26: White Sox 4, Tigers 3

Thanks to a Tiger pitcher deciding to reprise his ilk's performance in last year's World Series, the Sox managed to win a home series since taking two out of three against Oakland two months ago.

Scott Podsednik led off the ninth by slapping a single through the hole on the left side, then raced around to score after Zach Miner threw Josh Fields' sacrifice bunt attempt into right field.  It marked another rough day for the Detroit bullpen, and the Sox have now won five of nine from the defending AL champs.

Twice in this series, the Sox have managed to rally after being shut down by the opposing starter.  The Sox didn't have a ton of trouble hitting him entering today (42 hits, 26 runs in 32 1/3 innings), but Verlander brought his A-game and the Sox had difficulty squaring him up.  He didn't allow his first hit until the fourth inning, and only allowed three hits on the day.

Fortunately, all of them counted.  A.J. Pierzynski canceled the postgame show with a leadoff single, then came around to score on Scott Podsednik's double after Jermaine Dye walked.  Dye would cross the plate on Josh Fields' fielder's choice, which was impressive considering Fields was down 0-2 to Verlander.

Tadahito Iguchi knocked Verlander out of the game with a single to lead off the eighth, and after back-to-back walls to Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, he tied the game at 3 by scoring on Pierzynski's double play.

Of course, that kind of output would've been moot without a strong outing by John Danks.  The same team that racked up 14 hits on Mark Buehrle, 11 on Gavin Floyd and 12 on Jose Contreras only amounted to six on Danks, over 6 2/3 innings.  He began to run out of steam in the final two innings, as Placido Polanco and Magglio Ordonez were able to drive the ball to right field in the fifth, helping the Tigers take a 3-2 lead.

He also ran into trouble in the sixth, but left on a high note -- striking out Curtis Granderson on a 3-2 changeup, his 104th pitch of the day.

Ehren Wassermann jammed Placido Polanco to end the threat, and he and Bobby Jenks threw a perfect final two innings as well to give the Sox a chance to win it.

Record: 46-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 25: Tigers 13, White Sox 9

Even though the Sox lost, it was nice to see the Sox pound Kenny Rogers for once.  Jermaine Dye pounded a three-run homer to left-center in the first inning, and the Roaster never recovered.  He allowed more than twice as many earned runs to the Sox today than he did all last year.

Sox hitters also took advantage of a pretty nice wind-tunnel effect to right field.  Juan Uribe and Andy Gonzalez went opposite-field, and Tadahito Iguchi nearly did the same with a double that carried to the wall.

Of course, the Sox didn't have another comeback in them.  Iguchi was caught off base when Jason Grilli snared Paul Konerko's chopper, and he was tagged out during the ensuing rundown.  The Sox never threatened again.

Still, nine runs should be enough to win, but not with Jose Contreras on the mound.  There's not much to say about his start -- he just doesn't look like he has much of anything anymore.

I found the bullpen usage to be more interesting.  Boone Logan, Ryan Bukvich and Charlie Haeger entered the game.  I was surprised that Boone Logan was the first man out of the bullpen and allowed both inherited runners to score, while Haeger came in during a high-leverage situation.  I'm not a fan of a knuckleballer coming in when another team is playing for one run.

Bukvich had his best game of the year, at least.  He retired all six guys he faced.

Record: 45-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 24: White Sox 8, Tigers 7

I'm not going to speak for White Sox fans on the whole, but when people ask me why on Earth I still watch this team, I'm going to point to this game.

Through five innings, the Sox had nothing.  They trailed 7-1, were outhit 11-2, and Detroit hitters pounded mistakes and did enough with good pitches to chase Gavin Floyd after 4 2/3 innings.  Coming off a game in which they had one hit off Tiger relievers, there wasn't much hope.

They cut it to 7-3 after Tadahito Iguchi homered and Rob Mackowiak flared a single off Macay McBride (who I thought was black before tonight), but the thought of a comeback didn't kick in until Jim Thome crushed a three-run homer to cut it to a one-run game.

The Sox finally achieved the unthinkable and took the lead in the eighth when Rob Mackowiak smoked a ball that Sean Casey couldn't handle for a double.

Now, here's where the unthinkable events start:

1) Josh Fields started his at-bat swinging at a ball and missing badly on a bunt attempt, leading me to believe he'd strand Mack at second.  However, he hung in there and chopped a ball to short high enough to get Mack to third.

2) Scott Podsednik, hitless in his first six at-bats since coming off the disabled list, lined a single through center to score Mack. 

3) Then he stole second.

4) Then Juan Uribe drew a walk even though he swung at a ball.

5) Then Carlos Guillen botched a would-be double play ball off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski, scoring Pods and moving Uribe to third.

6-1 billion million) All the while, Boone Logan, Ehren Wassermann, Ryan Bukvich and Matt Thornton didn't allow a single run to score despite looking typically shaky.

Jerry Owens ushered in a return to normalcy when he short-armed a suicide squeeze attempt, hanging Uribe out to dry.  When Thornton started off the ninth by allowing a single to Sean Casey, it seemed all too familiar.

Jenks would once again shut the door, picking up saves in both halves of the doubleheader.  Mike Hessman popped out on a high fastball, and then after pinch-running Brandon Inge stole second, he was caught off second when Mike Rabelo lined out to Iguchi, ending the game and capping off the remarkable comeback.

Gavin Floyd was spared two losses in two starts.  He'll be an interesting project for Don Cooper.  He has the pitches -- the fastball has some movement and his curveball made a few Tigers flinch.  However, it seemed like Tigers hitters had a head start on his attempts at jamming them with a fastball.  I don't often buy the pitch-tipping excuse, but there might be something iffy with Floyd's delivery.

Of course, that doesn't excuse the slider he hung to Hessman, which nearly landed on the concourse when it finally came down.

The other half of the starting battery, Toby Hall, had a rough night as well.  He was knocked out with a mild concussion after Carlos Guillen hit him with his follow through, but even if he could remember the events preceding it, he wouldn't want to.  First, he ripped a foul ball to the left side and hit a fan.  Then he couldn't throw out a runner because he had trouble getting his feet out from under him after popping out of the crouch.  When he did single, he was doubled off inexplicably on a soft Jerry Owens liner to short.

Record: 45-55 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 24: White Sox 5, Tigers 3

If the Sox could've put this kind of offensive output behind White Sox starters like they did in this game, the Sox wouldn't be in this deep of a hole.  And the thing is, they didn't really do all that much.

Javier Vazquez didn't falter much in this outstanding start, but when he did, the Sox picked him up.  His roughest inning was the first, when Curtis Granderson hit a single, but with Jermaine Dye chasing it, turned into a double.  He advanced to third on a fly to right and scored on a grounder two batters later.

Nevertheless, Sox hitters picked him up when Paul Konerko hit a grounder to third weak enough to avoid the double play and drive in Alex Cintron, and A.J. Pierzynski followed with an RBI double.

When Vazquez allowed a homer to Ivan Rodriguez, Josh Fields homered right back in the bottom of the inning (his second straight game with one).  When Granderson homered in the sixth, Konerko broke his hitless streak with a three-run homer.

That would be enough for Javy, who brought his great fastball today.  I saw readings as high as 95, and not only was he spotting it on the outside corner to right-handers, but when coupled with a changeup that was moving almost like a screwball, they didn't stand a chance.  Javy only allowed four hits over eight innings, and Bobby Jenks closed it out with a perfect ninth.

Jim Thome had a tremendous game, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk.  Also worth noting is a Jerry Owens double, snapping a streak of 121 at-bats without an extra-base hit.

Record: 44-55 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 23: Tigers 9, White Sox 6

I've only watched bits and pieces of this game, since I came back from the bar in time for the ninth inning and caught up the best I could fast-forwarding.  However, it was amusing to come home, check whitesox.com and see the following image:



At any rate, some random thoughts:

it isn't fun to see Mark Buehrle make his first start at home only to resemble his second-half-of-2006 form.  He gave up a lot of hits (14), and it seems like hitters are on to his slow curveball over his last two starts.  What's a shame is that he could've gotten out of the game having allowed only five runs, but a Mike Hessman dink single gave him the loss instead.  Ehren Wassermann actually made a great pitch, and Hessman got enough wood on it to push it into short right field.

Curtis Granderson killed Buehrle today, continuing a troublesome trend of problems against lefties for Buehrle.

Jim Thome and Paul Konerko must be competing amongst themselves to see who has the worst game.  Konerko topped Thome yesterday, but Thome roared right back with an 0-for-5 game, stranding six runners while striking out three times.  He did have an RBI groundout to his credit.  Konerko was merely 0-for-4 with three stranded and two strikeouts.

Jerry Owens was a dark horse in the competition, going 1-for-6 and stranding six.  The last at-bat was especially pathetic, striking out on six pitches without taking the bat off his shoulder.  At least he added a couple of diving catches.

Speaking of defense, Juan Uribe's deke that caught Granderson off second was the kind of imaginative defense we thought we'd see more of from Uribe this year.

It's nice to see Josh Fields' bat coming back to life, and two hits boosted his average back over .250.  However, the Sox returned to their ways of amounting to jack against relievers.  They had no problem figuring out flamethrowing lefty Andrew Miller, but only managed one hit off the makeshift Tiger bullpen.  That brought back memories of their run of 61 straight at-bats without a hit against relief pitchers.

Record: 43-55 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 22: Red Sox 8, White Sox 5

Sure, it wasn't easy watching Jim Thome fan on fastballs and Paul Konerko ground into a double play when the heart of the order came up in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and nobody out.  However, this loss is pinned on Jon Garland.

Garland worked his second straight labor-intensive outing, but unlike his outing against the Indians, Garland couldn't get out of the fifth.  Control issues bit him in the butt, and the Red Sox made him pay both times he suffered major lapses.

He walked two batters in an inning twice, and both times it resulted in a three-run homer.  Manny Ramirez gave Boston a quick 3-0 lead in the first, but it paled in comparison to the second occasion.  After retiring the first two batters in the fifth, Garland walked Ramirez and J.D. Drew.  Mike Lowell then followed up with a Monster shot to make it a 6-1 game. 

Garland was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, which took 112 pitches to complete.

Charlie Haeger had the same issue, walking the first two he faced in the sixth.  He didn't throw a gopher ball, but two runs came across the plate to score via a single and sacrifice fly.

Haeger eventually settled down to give the White Sox a chance to get back in it, and in a weird turn of events, the bottom of the order actually sparked the scoring. Josh Fields hit a pair of RBI singles, Juan Uribe had a three-hit day, and even Jerry Owens and Alex Cintron contributed.

Unfortunately, with the season being the way it is, the only two guys who had been hitting all year -- Thome and Konerko -- didn't show today.  Thome did draw a bases-loaded walk, but Konerko failed both times with the bags full.  In addition to the game-ending double play, Konerko also popped foul with one out and a struggling Manny Delcarmen in.

Record: 43-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 21: Red Sox 11, White Sox 2

Fox blacked this game out in my area, and considering the unhittable Kason Gabbard once again shut down the Sox offense, I figured there was no point in watching the replay.

John Danks seemed to pitch a decent game, but received no support from his offense or bullpen.  This was fun:

- E. Wassermann relieved J. Danks
- E. Hinske hit for W. Pena
- E. Hinske singled to right
- J. Lugo struck out swinging, E. Hinske stole second
- D. Pedroia struck out looking
- M. Ramirez intentionally walked
- K. Youkilis walked, E. Hinske to third, M. Ramirez to second
- B. Logan relieved E. Wassermann
- J.D. Drew walked, E. Hinske scored, M. Ramirez to third, K. Youkilis to second
- D. Day relieved B. Logan
- M. Lowell walked, M. Ramirez scored, K. Youkilis to third, J.D. Drew to second
- J. Varitek walked, K. Youkilis scored, J.D. Drew to third, M. Lowell to second
- C. Crisp singled to center, M. Lowell and J.D. Drew scored, J. Varitek to second
- E. Hinske tripled to deep right, C. Crisp and J. Varitek scored
- J. Lugo struck out swinging

Record: 43-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 20: Red Sox 10, White Sox 3

Jose Contreras found himself in trouble four times over the course of the evening.  He only minimized damage once -- at least on his own.

That lone occasion came in the first, when Julio Lugo singled to start the inning and stole second.  Contreras got a huge strikeout, then stranded Lugo on third after a groundout and a flyout.

Otherwise, Contreras worked towards the worst possible conclusion in every other occasion:

*In the first, he retired the first two batters before walking David Ortiz and hitting Manny Ramirez.  J.D. Drew followed with a homer that barely cleared the Monster -- except all the umps misjudged the angle of the deflection and ruled that it remained in the park, even after a conference.  Ramirez was tagged out at home on a relay started by Rob Mackowiak; Terry Francona came out to argue the call and was ejected.  Contreras nearly put the Sox in a 3-0 hole, all with two outs; instead, the BoSox led only 1-0 after one.

*In the fifth, Contreras walked Jason Varitek to lead off the inning, then watched Eric Hinske push a bunt towards a vacant left side of the infield, as Ozzie Guillen called for a Thome-like shift.  Julio Lugo then victimized Contreras again via the bunt, except Contreras threw soft and high, pulling Tadahito Iguchi's foot off the bag.  Coco Crisp cleared the bases with a triple, then scored on Ortiz's single.

*In the eighth, the Red Sox loaded the bases with nobody out.  Varitek hit a sacrifice fly, but Contreras reloaded the bases by hitting the slumping Kevin Youkilis.  Lugo cleared the bases with a grand slam on one of Contreras' trademark hanging sidearm sliders.

In between that, Contreras kept the Red Sox at bay.  Freaking out with runners on was his big hangup when the Sox acquired him, and it seems like he's regressed completely.

On the other hand, this loss isn't that hard to take considering the Red Sox's best pitcher beat the White Sox's worst.  Josh Beckett struck out 10 over six innings, and aside from Jim Thome's three-run homer, preceded by singles by Juan Uribe and Jerry Owens, the Sox offense didn't put up much of a fight.

One bright spot: Ehren Wassermann retired the two batters he faced in his major-league debut, including a strikeout to start his White Sox career.

Record: 43-52 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 19: White Sox 4, Red Sox 2

I heard the Red Sox were in a bit of a rut, but this is ridiculous.

They had Javier Vazquez on the ropes early, racking up six hits over the first two innings, but it amounted to only two runs.  Meanwhile, the Sox managed to score their first three runs on two hits thanks to wildness from Daisuke Matsuzaka, who walked the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth.

A.J. Pierzynski, never known to be particularly clutch, came up with two big hits: A run-scoring duck-snort single in the first, and a two-run base hit in the sixth that knocked Matsuzaka out of the game.  Pierzynski probably should've been in the dugout, having been frozen on an outside-corner fastball that looked good to just about everybody but home plate umpire Tim McClelland, but the slow strike call never game.  A.J. roped a single through the hole on the right side to give the White Sox a lead.

Furthermore, the embattled White Sox bullpen made it stand up.  Matt Thornton put Ryan Bukvich in the uncomfortable situation of having to strand two runners after he failed to retire David Ortiz, his only batter on the night.  Bukvich almost duplicated his Baltimore feat -- he came within inches of drilling both Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis in the head with his first pitches, but after a deep flyball that landed into Jerry Owens' mitt on the warning track, Bukvich's outing was surprisingly calm.

Bobby Jenks even preserved a two-run lead for once, retiring the Red Sox 1-2-3 in the ninth -- although he did fall behind each batter, including the final one, Dustin Pedroia, 3-0.  It's kind of weird that Paul Konerko's insurance-run homer off Hideki Okajima in the eighth inning actually scared me, since that had been the pattern in each of Jenks' previous two blown saves.  Somehow, the White Sox made it stand up.

Record: 43-51 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 18: White Sox 5, Indians 1

There are several amazing things about this game:

1) Mark Buehrle didn't pitch all that great.  He threw a lot of curveballs up and over the plate, and it was reflected in his hit total (10 over 6+ innings), yet he allowed only one run.

2) Buehrle survived without receiving much defensive support.  Alex Cintron was in all his short-arming glory, botching two throws.

3) Sox relievers didn't allow a run of their own.  In fact, Matt Thornton came in with two runners on and the tying run at the plate, and he stranded them both with a double play that Cintron actually turned.

4) Charlie Haeger didn't bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth.  Sure, he came close by putting two on, but he worked around to close out the game with two scoreless innings.

5) Paul Konerko stranded seven runners, yet contributed with his 20th homer, a two-run shot.

Other less unusual things happened, like Rob Mackowiak going 3-for-4, Andy Gonzalez striking out three times and Jim Thome reaching base three times.  What it all amounts to is leaving Cleveland with a series win, and very nearly a sweep had Bobby Jenks gotten the job done last night.

Now, the big question is, "How good is Cleveland, anyway?"  So far, I'm wondering what exactly Eric Wedge did to deserve his three-year extension.

Record: 42-51 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 17: Indians 6, White Sox 5 (11 innings)

Bobby Jenks blew a two-run lead.  See the Orioles game from Saturday, with the following exceptions:

• Charlie Haeger provided a one-man bridge from Jon Garland to Bobby Jenks.
• Jermaine Dye helped him by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the eighth.  I can't remember the last time that happened -- it was an easy throw for a right fielder, and he actually made it.
• A.J. Pierzynski added an insurance run in the ninth by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
• Dewon Day gave up the winning run in the 11th instead of the 10th.

Other than that, the spirit of the game is just about the same.

Record: 41-51 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 16: White Sox 11, Indians 10

For one glorious inning, the White Sox were actually enjoyable to watch.

Then they spent the next four innings undoing everything they'd achieved.

The Sox sent 13 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, and one of the outs was a Josh Fields sacrifice bunt.  They actually took advantage of a bad decision by Ryan Garko, missing an out at home instead of taking the out at first.  They also used a horrendous Eric Wedge miscoach to their advantage, when he opted to intentionally walk Juan Uribe to load the bases.  Jerry Owens increased his season RBI total by 200 percent, A.J. Pierzynski had two hits (including a double to the center-field track), and every player except Tadahito Iguchi reached base.  And even Iguchi made a contribution with a sacrifice fly.

Basically, everything that could've gone right for the Sox in that inning did go right.  In fact, they scored as many runs in the sixth inning as they did in the last three games of the Baltimore series.  Woo.

But White Sox pitching wouldn't allow an easy victory.  First, John Danks, who had been hit hard in the fourth but rebounded in the fifth inning, must've gotten cold in the sixth.  He departed after allowing a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez.

Nick Masset and Matt Thornton actually worked a scoreless eighth, but Thornton gave up a single to lead off the eighth and the meltdown began. 

Ryan Bukvich retired one out of three batters.  Boone Logan walked Grady Sizemore, and then when he finally got a fielded ground ball, Uribe booted it.  After a sacrifice fly, Boone Logan first issued a wild pitch to advance those runners on first and second one base -- then they both scored on Travis Hafner's single to make it a one run game.

Dewon Day finally ended the insanity when he induced a first-pitch groundout to preserve the lead.  Bobby Jenks recorded the save, but only with the help of a diving stab by Paul Konerko to prevent the leadoff runner from reaching.  Hafner singled with two outs, and his pinch-runner, Ben Francisco, stole second.  However, Jhonny Peralta popped out to A.J. Pierzynski to end the game.

Record: 41-50 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 15: Orioles 5, White Sox 3

Another day, another crappy performance by the Sox.

This one felt over as soon as it began, when Jose Contreras gave up two runs in the first.  As it turned out, the Sox required the Orioles to score more than three runs to win (they did), but Jose Contreras never established himself during this game.

Contreras was hit hard, and it didn’t matter whether he was ahead in the count or behind.  He followed in the footsteps of Jon Garland, Dewon Day and Mark Buehrle of not being able to retire Corey Patterson after getting ahead 0-2, and ended up giving up a solo shot off the right-field foul pole.

Brian Roberts went deep as well, Nick Markakis hit an RBI double that nearly made it out, and other Orioles gave Sox pitchers some scares with deep fly balls aided by a stiff wind blowing straight out.

Aside from Jermaine Dye, who launched two solo homers, Sox hitters couldn’t take advantage of the breeze off Garret Olson.  Tadahito Iguchi’s seventh-inning double was the only other time a Sox hitter made an Orioles outfielder turn his back to home plate.  Otherwise, it was a string of ground balls and weak pop-ups.

Toby Hall failed to drive in a runner on third with less than two outs in the fourth, which was unfortunate since today was his best game in a Sox uniform.  He hit two singles, but more importantly, threw out two out of three potential basestealers.  Patterson was the only successful one, and Hall nearly gunned him down, too.

Still, I was hoping A.J. Pierzynski would hit for Hall when he came up with no outs in the ninth inning after Cintron led off with a single.  Hall would strike out looking, Jerry Owens did the same (where was Rob Mackowiak?) and Iguchi grounded out harmlessly to end the game.

It gave Olson his first victory, although I would hesitate to call it a "major-league" victory since he wasn't facing a major-league team.

Record: 40-50 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 14: Orioles 7, White Sox 6 (10 innings)

Bobby Jenks entered with a two-run lead, saw the Orioles whittle it down to one run.  That lead evaporated when Jenks, pitching with a runner on third and a 1-2 count, threw his 50th or so pitch in the dirt that inning.  

It just happened to be the one A.J. Pierzynski couldn’t block.  It rolled to the backstop, the run came home, and the Sox had blown yet another lead.

Charlie Haeger would end up taking the loss in the 10th, a fitting start to his 2007 season with the White Sox.  He had gotten a grounder right to a drawn-in Tadahito Iguchi with one out, but with two outs, Nick Markakis found a hole through the left side and the game was over.

Of course, they weren’t the only two to struggle.  Ozzie Guillen used every reliever but Dewon Day, and every inning from the sixth on was a gigantic fight.  

Nick Masset was on his way to pitching an uneventful inning when Alex Cintron booted a playable grounder to his left.  Ryan Bukvich threw one pitch – and it hit Kevin Millar in the shoulder to load the bases.  Matt Thornton walked two in his inning of work.

Only Boone Logan, who struck out Aubrey Huff with the bases loaded in the seventh, could say he actually did his job.  And thus was my first in-person look at what a disaster this White Sox bullpen is.

Javier Vazquez, coming off two complete games, couldn’t make it out of the sixth.  With one out, he gave up a solo homer to Millar, and then Jay Payton followed up a couple batters later.

It was somewhat vintage Vazquez – if you call April through July of 2006 “vintage.”  Up until that point, he had cruised.  He ran into some early trouble, giving up an RBI double to Markakis in the first, but he settled down shortly thereafter.

The Sox offense gave him some support early on, sending eight batters to the plate against a wild Daniel Cabrera and scoring three runs.  Paul Konerko doubled in a run, Jermaine Dye added an RBI single and Rob Mackowiak drew a bases-loaded walk.  Josh Fields ended the threat with a 6-4-3 double play.

Single runs in the second and third stretched the lead to 5-1, though it could’ve been bigger.  Juan Uribe couldn’t cash in a runner on third with one out in the third.

However, when it looked like Sox hitters called it a night, they added an insurance run in the eighth.  Jerry Owens reached on what was scored an error, but looked like a favorable wrong call instead, as it appeared Millar had beat Owens to the base after a throw pulled him off.  He stole second off Chad Bradford and scored on Cintron’s RBI single.

Record: 40-49 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 13: Orioles 2, White Sox 0

To sum up this evening in one picture:

Lots and lots of backwards Ks (six in all). Lots of trying to milk walks. Lots of not recognizing that the ump was calling the strike at the knees all night long.

Mark Buehrle pitched well, but received no support.  Paul Konerko hit a pair of doubles and was stranded each time.  Not a fun game.

Record: 40-48 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 12: White Sox 9, Orioles 7

Yup, the White Sox picked up where they left off.  They entered the ninth with a seven-run lead, yet the bullpen -- or Dewon Day and Boone Logan, namely -- allowed the tying run to come to the plate.  The Sox had previously done this with five-run leads twice, but a seven-run lead is new territory.  Especially all in one inning.

The Sox offense unexpectedly crushed Orioles rookie Jeremy Guthrie, who entered the game with a 2.74 ERA and allowing under a baserunner an inning.  Jim Thome greeted him with a two-out solo homer in the first inning, and the Sox piled on thereafter.  The next five batters reached, highlighted by an RBI single by Jermaine Dye and a two-run double by Rob Mackowiak.

Dye and Mackowiak had a banner days.  Dye added a solo homer and a single, and Mackowiak went 3-for-3 with a walk.  Juan Uribe was the only Sox without a hit, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

An A.J. Pierzynski RBI ground-rule double ended Guthrie's day.  He lasted only 3 2/3 innings, his worst start of the season.  Little did we know that when Paul Konerko added an insurance run with a single in the seventh, it would end up mattering.

Matt Thornton struck out the side in his inning of work in relief of Jon Garland, with a two-out walk the only blemish on a tremendous outing.  Dewon Day had the opposite luck -- each of his six pitches went for strikes, but all four batters reached via a base hit, three of them on the first pitch.

Boone Logan looked like he was going to limit the damage to two runs when he retired the first two batters he faced on a weak groundout and a weak popout.  But then he grooved one to Kevin Millar, who blasted a three-run homer, and it became a two-run game.

When Logan then allowed a weak single to Aubrey Huff, Ozzie Guillen was forced to go to Bobby Jenks, who retired Jay Payton on one pitch to end the game.

The shame is Garland allowed the bullpen an easy night out with a strong outing, especially in comparison to his disaster against the Twins.  He was efficient with his pitches, and only ran into trouble a couple times.  He allowed three singles in the first inning, but only one run came out of it.  The same thing happened in the sixth, when a double play stifled what could've been a crooked number when the O's started the inning with three singles.

Record: 40-47 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 8: White Sox 6, Twins 3

Had the Sox actually been in a pennant race of sorts this year instead of trailing by double digits, this could've been called something like the "Miracle Split of 2007."  Instead, we'll just be saved some platitudes from Ozzie Guillen about the Twins.  And you know what?  That's OK, too.

Thanks to another complete game by Javier Vazquez, the Sox managed to take the final two of a four-game series against Minnesota despite being outscored 36-23.

Vazquez continues to overwrite his reputation as a five-and-diver, as he allowed eight hits and struck out eight while walking none.  He ran into a trouble only a couple times -- three straight singles led to two runs in the fourth to cut into a 5-1 lead, but aided by a slightly generous strike zone, Vazquez pitched around the rest of it.

The key moment came in the fifth inning, when back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out.  After striking out Jason Bartlett, he found himself down 3-0 to Joe Mauer.  It looked like he was going to give hm the unintentional intentional walk with the base open, but instead he battled back to 3-2, then froze him with a curveball that was just off the outside corner, which the ump deemed good enough.

Outside of a solo homer to Justin Morneau in the sixth (his eighth against the Sox this year), Vazquez cruised and made the Sox's one big inning stand up.

Carlos Silva retired the first six Sox he faced, but Rob Mackowiak canceled the postgame show with a leadoff homer, his fifth of the year.  Luis Terrero doubled, but it looked like he might be stranded on third after a Juan Uribe pop-up and Jerry Owens groundout.

Then came the string of two-out hits.  First, Tadahito Iguchi drove in Terrero with a single to left-center.  Jim Thome jumped all over the first pitch he saw for a homer, and then Paul Konerko made it back-to-back by doinking the left field foul pole.

Thome had a big day, going 3-for-4 and scoring an insurance run when he singled, advanced to second a wild pitch, to third on a groundout and scored on A.J. Pierzynski's sacrifice fly.

Record: 39-47 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 7: White Sox 3, Twins 1

With contract talks reportedly breaking down and his pitching colleagues doing the same this series, Mark Buehrle put it all aside and shut out the Twins for eight innings, just one day after they scored 32 runs against Sox pitching in a doubleheader.

Buehrle pitched around a miscue starting off the game -- an infield single off a diving Josh Fields' mitt and an inexplicable muff by Juan Uribe put runners on first and second with nobody out, foreshadowing doom once again.  Yet Buehrle got a double play and a flyout to end the threat, and a Minnesota runner never reached scoring position again on his watch.

Double plays were a big reason why he held the Twins at bay, inducing four on the day.  Tadahito Iguchi had a couple of brilliant turns, and another was a line drive right at Paul Konerko, for an unassisted twin killing.

Unlike the last time Buehrle left the game to a standing ovation, Bobby Jenks actually held down the lead, although he looked shaky doing it.  Once again, a walk to Mike Cuddyer started trouble.  He'd score after a Justin Morneau single advanced him to third (Jerry Owens' arm scares nobody) and a Torii Hunter sacrifice fly, but he stranded a runner to close out his 23rd game.

The Sox offense did all its damage in the fourth inning off Boof Bonser.  Owens led off with one of his two bunt singles on the day, stole second, advanced to third on Iguchi's single and scored on Jim Thome's fielder's choice, which would've been a single had Jason Bartlett not made an outstanding play.  Paul Konerko made sure nobody could make a play following up, as he launched his 17th homer of the year.

Owens had an up-and-down game, to say the least.  While he ignited the fourth-inning rally, he also blew a chance to add to the lead when he hit a chopper to first with runners on second and third and nobody out later in the game.  Rob Mackowiak was a dead duck at home.  He was also picked off for the second straight game in the ninth inning.

Record: 38-47 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 6: Twins 12, White Sox 0

One could make the argument that this game had an uglier start than the first half of the doubleheader, even though the Twins only held a 3-0 lead after the first inning, instead of a four-run advantage.

Gavin Floyd started his White Sox career by walking Michael Cuddyer, who went 0-for-6 in Game 1, with two outs to face Justin Morneau.  Morneau promptly crushed a hanging 1-2 curveball into the Bullpen Sports Bar, the first of his three homers on the day.

In the top of the first, Jerry Owens led off the game with a single, but then was thrown out leaving early on a stolen base attempt.  He looked like he thought Matt Garza had delivered the pitch, but Garza had done no such thing.  In fact, he just stepped off the rubber and threw to second in time to nab Owens.

For good measure, Jim Thome conked Mike Redmond on the head when he let go of the bat on his follow through, drawing blood and forcing Redmond out of the game.  Joe Mauer, the designated hitter, replaced him, and the Twins lost their DH.

As it turned out, the Twins were fine with eight hitters.  In fact, they would've been fine with no hitters.  Matt Garza, Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan shut down the Sox, and Floyd would give up four homers on the night.  Boone Logan was shelled for five runs in his 2/3 of an inning and Matt Thornton was also hit hard.  Bobby Jenks managed to get a 1-2-3 inning to stop the pain.

The Sox did have a couple of hitters reach scoring position, but they managed to spoil the opportunity each time.  Paul Konerko led off the second with a double and advanced to third on A.J. Pierzynski's groundout, but Jermaine Dye popped out feebly.  He's now 8-for-18 in driving in the runner from third with less than two outs.

Tadahito Iguchi also led off an inning with a double, but was doubled off when he misread a soft liner to short.

Record: 37-47 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 6: Twins 20, White Sox 14

The Cheat has all the details of Jon Garland's historically bad start.

All I have to add is that perhaps Juan Uribe should just take the out at first.  It wasn't a terrible decision to try to get Luis Castillo out at third, but that's the second time a game has gotten away from the Sox after the same play failed.

Record: 37-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 5: White Sox 11, Orioles 6

Get this -- the Sox actually made an inexperiened pitcher pay for leaving stuff out over the plate.

Andy Gonzalez, Tadahito Iguchi, Jim Thome and Paul Konerko greeted Brian Burres with four straight hits leading to two runs, and then Jermaine Dye cleaned up the bases with a three-run homer for a quick 5-0 lead.  The homer was Dye's first hit since returning from the quad injury.

For a while, it looked like that was all the Sox would get as Kurt Birkins kept bats quiet for the next three-plus innings, but Juan Uribe would kick-start the Sox offense with a two-run shot.  Tadahito Iguchi tripled and scored on Jim Thome's groundouts, and that would be all the runs the Sox would need.

John Danks didn't match the brilliance of his previous outing against the Royals, but he got through six innings just fine.  Before the seventh, he had only allowed two runs, both coming on a Nick Markakis double. His stuff faded in the seventh, and his night ended on a Corey Patterson homer.  That came on his 108th pitch, a career high.

Iguchi fell a single short of the cycle, and he was denied a chance at achieving the feat when John Parrish walked him in the eighth inning. 

Record: 37-45 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 4: Orioles 9, White Sox 6

Let's count how many kinds of ways this game was hard to watch:

1. Jose Contreras couldn't stop the running game, whether they stole bases or dropped bunts in front of him.  He ended up throwing his glove into the stands in disgust at the end of the inning.
2. David Aardsma needed 39 pitches to get through an inning, mainly because he started off by walking the .219-hitting Paul Bako.  He, too, committed an error.
3. Josh Fields botched an easy play that should've ended an inning for the second time this series, leading to a run.
   
4. Paul Konerko couldn't score from second on a soft single to right with two outs.
5. Toby Hall drove in his first run of the season -- at the beginning of July.
6. The Sox stranded runners in scoring position in the first, third, sixth and seventh innings.
   

There's more, but frankly that's more of an effort than this game deserves.  Feel free to add your own, though.

Record: 36-45 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 3: White Sox 5, Orioles 1

Man, Javier Vazquez made it look easy tonight.  He went the distance for his fifth win of the season, retiring the last 16 batters he faced, allowing only one runner to reach scoring position, and he did it all while not walking a batter.  All his pitches worked for him tonight, and the only blemish of the evening came on Kevin Millar's solo home run 15 pitches in.  He threw the last 113 pitches without any damage.

Better yet, he was unfazed as he watched his offense squander nearly every scoring chance early in the game.

Sox hitters made Daniel Cabrera throw 35 pitches in the first inning, yet only scored one run.  They had the bases loaded in the third with nobody out, and again, only one run scored.  Jermaine Dye didn't even get an RBI for it, since he grounded into a double play.

Fortunately, Jim Thome saved the day when they were on the verge of failing yet again.  Josh Fields doubled to start the fourth, then advanced to third on Juan Uribe's sacrifice bunt.  But Jerry Owens tapped a weak comebacker to the mound and seemed to have let Cabrera off the hook.

Tadahito Iguchi drew a walk to extend the inning, and Thome came through with a three-run shot to left-center, No. 484 on the year.

Capping off the solid effort, the Sox committed no errors, and Fields made a lunging catch into the stands, giving himself a play to put on his sparse defensive highlight reel.

Record: 36-44 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 2: Orioles 7, White Sox 6

Five questions about this game:

1.  Why on Earth would Mark Buehrle consider staying in Chicago at a reduced rate? 

2.  With the way the bullpen keeps denying him wins, shouldn't he be asking for more than market value?

3.  Is there an official record for most hanging sliders in one game? 

4.  If so, did Ryan Bukvich and Bobby Jenks break it?

5.  If you bet $2.00 that Erik Bedard's outing would feature a higher total of runs allowed than innings pitched, what would the return be?

Record:  35-44 | Box score | Play-by-play

July 1: White Sox 3, Royals 1

Jon Garland gave another moment to add to his Gold Glove resume today -- and he didn't even make the play.

Trying to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead, Garland got his glove on a screaming Esteban German comebacker, just enough to deflect it softly towards Alex Cintron.  Cintron picked it up barehanded and threw it to Konerko in time to get Steve Deutsch by half a step.

That was the only real moment of turbulence in what was another solid start for the newly bearded Garland, who improved to 6-5 on the season and 15-5 against the Royals.  The only run he gave up was unearned -- Cintron bobbled a grounder to start the game, and that runner came around to score on a couple of weak singles.

Meanwhile, the Sox got just enough offense.  The rookies contributed, with Josh Fields and Andy Gonzalez driving in a run apiece in the fourth to give the Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After hitting as many homers in June (7) as he did in the first two months combined, Paul Konerko started his July with a solo homer in the fifth.

Oh, and Scott Podsednik hurt himself again.

Record: 35-43 | Box score | Play-by-play